"Ju-judging by their aim, th-they must be completely drunk" Yuto states seeing one of the rocks passing meters away from him.
Despite that, he advances through the stairs, hopping to the next level while holding his shield up to fight the falling rocks.
Yuto advances, rushing up the stairs as quickly as he is able, shield readied.
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Shuffling sideways up the stairs to try and keep as much cover from the rocks above, Torra sends another volley of rocks and pebbles at the assailants on the landing, waiting for the moment when one's head pops out from behind cover.
Torra hurls another powerful blast at the next unfortunate soul to try peeking out of cover to hurl a rock at the party, and his head explodes in a shower of gore, brains, and flesh clinging tightly to shards of bone.
One of his friends shouts something in Skald.
Andochtuir advances as well, following Yuto carefully.
The two remaining thugs hesitate, then hurl down another volley of rocks, this time focused solely on Torra. However, most of their hail of stones don't even make it to the platform on which she stands, bouncing off the intervening stairs. Those few that do make it through scatter around her, not a single one landing.
With that, the heroes hear a scuffle on the boards above as the two remaining Frozen Shadows beat a hasty retreat.
"I-I think you made them retreat!" Yuto exclaims ecstatic hearing the noise from above.
Still not sure the thing is a trick, he very carefully, makes the steps over to the next landing while holding his shield up for protection.
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The three heroes advance carefully up the rest of the walkway, and find there are no further projectiles waiting for them. Instead, the chill wind greets them, as does the now-familiar sight of Ravenscraeg proper. The caws of its namesake birds fill the air, but none of them look at the party with the malicious awareness that they had done the days prior. Indeed, they seem to be ignoring them entirely.
The doors into Ravenscraeg proper hang slightly open, as though inviting the trio in.
Their newfound abode, such as it is, is a cramped cell - about 10 feet in length and only five feet in height. It's difficult to tell more, since the only light they have slips in from a thick door to the outside world. It appears that they have been imprisoned.
The aches in Ritti’s body compete for attention with the nose-wrinkling stink of her – no their – new abode. There was no mistaking the fact she wasn’t alone. She rolls and flexes each of her limbs cautiously, determining the extent of her injuries and shaking the dust from her joints. While the rest of her body is busy, she looks around the cell and at her ‘roommate’. Her eyes glitter in the darkness, using every meager scrap of light coming through the door.
Well, Ritti-girl, we have a situation here…
Atsuko doesn't have a clean, crisp awakening. It comes in stages. First she is aware of her headache, along with a touch of nausea. Before she opens her eyes she can tell she is laying on stone, like she passed out in the street, well one of the paved streets. She might have thought it a hangover, but it doesn't feel right for that. Also, when she tries to shift her position so her face isn't planted into the floor, she finds her limbs and body are sore, especially her neck. It feels like the soreness remaining after a muscle cramp, but everywhere.
When she finds the clarity to roll over onto her side and open her eyes, everything is dark and blurry. After her eyes finally focus, Atsuko realizes the darkness is real. She also hears someone else nearby.
Without moving, she looks about and finds the person.
It's a kid. What happened?
Atsuko might have been more cautious but there's a child present, which doesn't signal much in the way of looming danger to her.
She thinks about sitting up, but the nausea favors staying right where she is just a little while longer.
"I feel awful. Where are we?"
Please, Gods, don’t let her be the panicky screamin’ mimi type…
Atsuko works her way up into a sitting position with a few grimaces. With more light on her Ritti can see she's young, maybe nineteen or twenty would be a decent estimate, and Tian. The odds favor probably Tian-Min since it's Kalsgard.
It's enough of a change in perspective for Atsuko to get a better view of the room.
"I think I'm getting the general idea, but plain truth. I hate being disappointed."
Torra wipes off the droplets of blood and gods know what else that had been inside a man's skull only a few moments earlier, before they freeze to her skin and clothes.
"Yes, I am glad that they are retreating. I don't want to keep killing them!"
Taking a few moments to breathe and get herself under control again, she then follows Yuto and ascends the last few flights of stairs to the entrance.
"I think the leaders are not here, just the rank and file. Or if they are, they are incredibly arrogant, to not confront us themselves and to keep throwing their people at us to die." There is anger in her voice, at the waste of life and the supposed selfish, callous leaders sheltering in the depths of Ravenscraeg while their loyal minions died for them.
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She sits up gingerly and moves closer to Atsuko. ”I pissed off the Rimerunners and one of their Shadow Whatsit bosses. I’m guessin’ you did something too. It looks like we’re in a cell or some storage room made into one. Bright-side, despite the rib cage in the corner over there, this doesn’t look like a.. a… oubliette.” She stumbles over the word.
”So, I’m guessin’ they don’t plan on starving us to death. But, I’m pretty sure they are gonna get around to killing me, or worse, at some point. Whatever got you sent here… you need to figure how much trouble you’re in for. As for where we are… I don’t know. It feels like I’ve been out for a long while. I was snooping around trying to find out about a 'Ravenscraeg keep' when I met a whole bunch of hobnailed boots. It’s possible that’s where we’re at but I can’t say for sure.”
Ritti lets out an involuntary yip of pain and examines her hand in the thin beam of light coming through the door. Two of her fingers are at odd angles. She pulls off a bit clothing she has on, rolls it tightly then stuffs it into her mouth. She carefully tries to pop her fingers back into their respective joints. The wad of cloth muffles her pained grunts well.
"I think I might have been drugged, or poisoned. Last I remember, I was having a conversation with a man who works for the Rimerunners. He is getting irritable, but this seems a bit much."
"I worked for them some. Occasional pick-up jobs. I'm a wainwright, so fixing broken axles and that sort of thing when it came up. I've been trying to get a spot on one of their caravans leaving to cross the High Ice."
Atsuko makes her way to her feet. Once she's standing, Ritti can see a couple more things about Atsuko that are unusual given her prior observations. Atsuko is quite tall for a Tian woman by a few inches, slightly taller than Ritti herself. Her build is also solid, not the typical svelte Tain-Min woman's body type.
"Not much in common between us except the Rimerunners, and very different kinds of dealings with them it seems. By 'Shadow Whatsit', did you mean the Frozen Shadows?"
"Why would the Rimerunners even have their own jail anyway?"
She shrugs at Atsuko’s observations and stands up. She’s careful not to smash her skull on the low ceiling then immediately bends over to stretch her lower back and legs. She is remarkably flexible. ”Yeah, the Frozen Shadows, the guys bossing the Rimerunners… Listen, I’ve got no answers for you. Maybe you got sent here to scare ya out of leaving. Maybe someone thinks you’re a problem or hates your guts… Maybe I’m the example that’s supposed to scare you out of doing whatever it is they don’t want ya doing. But whether they have a good reason or not for what they did to you… these guys DO have a cell and they bagged you and dropped you in it. In my experience, that’s not a hopeful sign.”
”What I know for sure is this… IF they let me walk out of here at all, I’m gonna be missing parts. I’m not sticking around for that. I’m gonna break out of here or go down fighting. That’s the best option I’ve got. You’ve got a choice here, too. You can come with me or stay here and take your chances. Or, I guess you could rat me out and hope that earns you some mercy. But – piece of advice here – criminals generally don’t do charitable acts, and you didn’t end up in this cell by accident. Someone put you here.” While completing her final limbering-up-for-mischief stretches, the slender thief watches the larger Tian woman out of the corner of her eye, waiting (somewhat fatalistically) to see how the future unfolds. Criminals, she understood. Civilians sometimes made truly confounding choices based on hopes more than reality.
Pity. She seems nice. I hope she doesn’t end up regretting whatever choice she makes.
Yuto assents hearing Torra "Y-yes. They are very co-coward. It says good of these men that th-they want to keep fighting even then. W-we should treat them honorably on their defeat."
The young but already grizzled man approaches the entrance door and slowly pushes it open with his shield "Th-this feels odd... k-kind of being invited in... a trap?"
"P-please stay behind, do-don't let them get you hurt Torra San" Yuto steps into the main hall and looks around, tensing at the sight of the birds.
If nothing happens, then he keeps going forward until the end of the hall, looking after the stairs going down that they saw before.
"If you've heard of the Frozen Shadows, do you know anything about them? I've heard the name, but that's all. It was a question about who they were that soured that last conversation I was having before I woke up here. That could be a second connection between us?"
"It doesn't matter what it's about though. I'm not sticking around here if I have a choice. They drugged me. What kind of lock are we dealing with?"
”It doesn't matter what it's about though. I'm not sticking around here if I have a choice. They drugged me. What kind of lock are we dealing with?”
That raises a happy eyebrow on the thief. ”You know locks? Well, well. I didn’t peg you as a ‘locksmith’. We might get out of this fix, after all.” Ritta searches through her hair, hoping to find her hidden, back-up pick.
Ritti looks over their makeshift prison carefully, scanning the room. There isn't much to this place - just a whole lot of darkness, a few rats, and no proper facilities for answering nature's call. There are, however, a few remnants of previous occupants, suggesting that whoever owns the place doesn't much care for their prisoners' sanitary wellbeing.
A quick scan of herself reveals that although most of her equipment is gone, the Frozen Shadows missed her concealed thieves' tools, meaning that she does have a way out... hopefully. At first, Ritti doesn't hear anything at the door, but then, in the distance, she hears... voices? Shouts? Beneath that, she hears a faint... buzzing?
The lock seems sturdy, but not unmanageable. Furthermore, a careful examination reveals faint signs of tampering with it - as though someone's done this before. Fortunately, neither of them are in chains.
Yuto pushes the doors open, revealing the same hall that they had fought the birds in the day prior. As before, flames lick out of the fire pits in the center of the hall, but there are no signs of any of the birds - or, indeed, the Frozen Shadows' corpses. Someone's been through here and cleaned it up, it seems.
The heroes advance deeper into the grand hall when they hear the shuffling of feet and spot movement from the room to their west. The Frozen Shadows that fled earlier are waiting there, weapons ready!
An arrow soars from the northeast hurling through the air at Andochtuir's unprotected back. Fortunately, the alchemist's thick, hardened skin deflects the projectile with minimal fuss. The bow-wielding ninja hisses a curse.
One of the thugs shouts something in Skald.
"It's a trap!" Yuto barely manages to shout as he turns towards the sound of the bowstring.
The Tian quickly maneuvers towards the area with more enemies, and places his body and shield between Torra and the enemies "The ninja there!" he points the one to the northeast for Torra to notice, while he focuses on the ninja in front of the dwarf.
Atsuko nods through Ritti's talking and finishes by saying "Atsuko, pleased to meet you." as she shakes the girl's hand.
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm no good without a weapon. I do have a few tricks I can pull out", Atsuko wiggles her fingers, "but nothing that does any real harm".
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Round 1
Ritti grins at Atsuko, in part because she finally finds the pick hidden in her hair. As an afterthought, she rolls down her socks and removes two rings that were accompanying the piggies-that-went-to-the-market. She places the rings on her fingers. ”Sloppy search... or maybe you are my good luck charm.”
She listens at the door for a long moment, before alerting Atsuko. ”I heard nothing before. Now it sounds like, I dunno, some distant talking or shouting and maybe buzzing? If they got problems, this is a good time to go.”
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm no good without a weapon. I do have a few tricks I can pull out", Atsuko wiggles her fingers, "but nothing that does any real harm".
”Bring whatever you can to the party… Now, let’s write our names into legend.”
With that, Ritti throws the Tian a cockeyed grin and sets to work popping the lock then stealthily cracking the door and taking a peep.
Stunning Fist (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
effect = x
"Oh, I heard them," Torra replies to Yuto's warning, ducking out of the way and ripping chunks of rock from the edge of the firepit to hurl at the approaching ninja.
Briefly, the dwarf wonders who has been cleaning up the hall and keeping the fire going. Did these Frozen Shadows have servants? Slaves? Magical domestic help?
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Ritti just barely manages to slip the lock open with a careful rejigging of the lock - she was lucky, there. It could've taken her much longer than that. Carefully opening the door, she looks around the room outside.
It looks like it's been hewn from solid rock and a wooden stair rises along the walls to the north . Tables and workbenches fill the chamber, holding all manner of alembics, crucibles, burners, and assorted tools, as well as a large glass case holding what appears to be a humanoid body. A variety of dried herbs and plants dangle in profusion from hooks on the bottoms of the stairs, and sacks and chests holding additional equipment and components have been shoved underneath the stairs. A torch mounted on one of the stair posts illuminates the chamber with a flickering glow. Amidst the piles sit the aggregate possessions of both women.
The body twitches as something crawls underneath its skin... but there's no sign of any guards.
Andochtuir swings his fauchard, lashing out at an invisible target nearby. Blood sprays from the air he slashes at, and a shriek of pain echoes in the great hall.
Yuto rushes to the doorway, interposing himself between the thugs and his fellows as he slashes at one of the Frozen Shadows - an Ulfen woman - with his katana. The blow connects, slicing a diagonal wound across the woman's chest. She growls in pain, but fights through it.
Torra unleashes a blast of earth at the invisible, bleeding figure nearby to her. With a hideous crack and a muffled yelp, a ninja shimmers into visibility and is tossed bodily to the ground, a gaping, bloody hole in his chest.
As Atsuko moves forwards, she steps on a small bone. The resultant snap prompts the person in the glass case to jerk upright, and start speaking in language neither of them understands. Its voice has a curious buzzing sound to it, but it sounds like it is pleading.
The sounds of combat echo down the hall to the west .
With a roar, the Ulfen woman heaves herself at Yuto, her axe descending in a razor arc. To his surprise, Yuto is almost struck by the edge of her weapon, but between his defensive fighting style and the ward his "helmet" offers him, the attack is deflected into his armor, that is easily able to absorb the blow.
Nevertheless, she shouts something in Skald, her face twisted in a manic grin.
Her partner takes a half-step back and thrusts desperately at Yuto. This time the samurai is ready, and he deflects the stabs with his shield.
The Tien man says.
The remaining ninja grunts, nocking another arrow and loosing it at Andochtuir again. The half-elf's magical protections hold, and the projectile deflects off his skin with only a minor laceration.
With a muttered curse, the ninja falls back into the room behind him, cutting around the corner to better hide.
"Oh god! Stay away from it Ritti. Don't touch it or go near it."
Torra shifts her focus to the Tien man menacing Yuto, sorely wishing she could understand what they were saying.
I need Riftun to teach me this language...
Carefully, delicately, Torra pulls on her power in an attempt to neutralize the ninja without killing them - in case they wanted to ask some questions later.
Round 2
Ritti surveys the laboratory of horrors. Welp… this got bad real f@cking quick.
She appreciates the other woman’s caution, but says, ”I ain’t getting any closer than I got to… but we HAVE TO keep moving. Get a weapon or spell stuff first, then start throwing on your gear. I’ll help you with that armor. Plan is to grab our sh#t and get gone.”
Without hesitation, Ritti slides forward into the room and makes calming/staying/quieting gestures at the man in the box. ”We’ll help you, pal, but we gotta check some stuff first. Makes sense, right?”
Atsuko sees the girl she’s only known in glimpses of thin light beams or as a silhouette in the half-light of the cell. She is slim with a mostly boyish figure, probably somewhere between 14 and 17 years, at a guess. If her first impression hadn’t been based on Ritti’s voice and manner, she might have assumed the thief was on the younger end of that range. She is dressed simply – calf-skin trousers, a light loose-fitting tunic, and a pair of threadbare (and none-too-clean) chausses. The nondescript impression is counterpointed by the wavy mop of auburn hair, favoring the red.
As Ritti cautiously moves towards their gear, she listens briefly at the nearby door . All the while she makes calming gestures at the box-man, especially as she moves towards him and their gear. Ritti’s prepares herself to respond to an attack from any quarter. If she makes it to the table without the box-man getting aggressive or any other horror jumping her, she signals Atsuko forward.
Stunning Fist (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
effect = x
Gulping after the surprise of the axe swing, Yuto tries to recompose himself and hold the line "You try!" with a quick movement of his blade, he tries to disable the injured Ulfen before she can provide the aid requested by the other one.
The Tian surprises himself when he moves his arm with such a speed that he manages to perform another swing at the woman before she attacks with the axe again.
The attack is too pressed though, and lands on the door frame.
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Very grateful his new invisibility-piercing, sight-enhancing extract seemed to work, Andy swung at the new challenger. He *should* probably mention to Torra that the 'owl eyes' used to make it were herbalist slang for Rudbeckia and Alamy flowers, but perhaps it was funnier if she didn't know.
"What are those noises from the south?" He wonders as his brutal swing seems to strike true, intent on ending the assassin's life.
Atsuko cautions Ritti on approaching... whatever it is in the glass, even as it beats helplessly on the prison from within.
Ritti cautiously advances into the laboratory, struggling through the densely packed tables and apparatuses. The creature makes no move to attack, seeming unable to break through the walls of its transparent 'jail.'
Andochtuir advances, his fauchard lashing out over Yuto's shoulder as he strikes at the thugs inside the room. Despite all of the intervening obstacles - including Andochtuir's samurai ally - the polearm strikes the Ulfen woman in the temple, cutting deep into the top of her head. She collapses, a low moan emerging from her mouth.
Yuto strikes at the remaining Frozen Shadow, chopping down into his collarbone despite the other fighter's best efforts to ward the blow away. Nevertheless, he manages to cling to consciousness, despite his face twisting in agony.
That swiftly changes, however, as an earthen blast arcs over the two men's heads and smashes his skull in, splattering blood, brains, and shards of bone over Yuto's clothing and armor.
Hell, as it turns out, is an apt turn of phrase, as a story an old, disinherited Chelish noble once told her comes to mind:
In Hell, there are innumerable vicious beings that are subordinate to devils but not actually among their number - hellhounds, cerberi, and so on. The old man had specifically told her about one such creature - the so-called hellwasp. Though he called them 'wasps,' these infernal nightmares are worse in every way - up to and including a malign intelligence when gathered as a hive or swarm. His mother, he mentioned, was deeply fond of her 'pet' swarm, though it was in truth more of a partner.
For one, hellwasps are entirely immune to weaponry. Not even the most holy enchanted sword can meaningfully harm them. Only spells and other unusual means of damage can truly do them harm. They are, as one might expect from natives of Hell, very resistant to fire, and difficult to harm with even something like alchemist's frost or acid flasks - holy water is the only reliable means. .
He also mentioned that the swarm was capable flying into the orifices of larger creatures - anything from a halfling to an ogre's size - so long as the creature was either dead or rendered unable to resist - another favored torture for would-be dissidents. Though they did not possess the creature as such, they are able to wreak havoc on their insides and generally use them as a shield from any hostile actions.
Atsuko can extrapolate more from this. Hellwasp swarms are, of course, swarms, and have all of the qualities that one might expect - being incredibly unpleasant to be surrounded by, attacking those within the swarm, and so on - but also have unique abilities to of their own. Finally, she is reasonably certain that, as with mundane wasps, the stings of hellwasps would be poisonous, numbing the body and locking the joints.
Needless to say, releasing a swarm would be a terrible idea.
The heroes, distracted as they were, lose track of the remaining ninja - but only until another arrow arcs over from the doorway, aimed at Torra. The projectile strikes her in the shoulder, narrowly missing a vital artery , but her hardened skin protects her from the worst of the damage - the arrow simply sticks on her shoulder for a moment before falling to the ground nearby.
Figuring out what is very probably going on with the body in the case causes waves of fear to wash through Atsuko. It's not just the knowledge of what they are, but knowing there is absolutely nothing they can do about them. She is so worried about provoking them she cups her hands over Ritti's ear and her mouth to whisper just a couple of inches away from her head.
"Hellwasps inside the body. If they get out, they do that to us. We can't kill them. No sound, move slow, let's get out right now."
Atsuko gathers her things and rearms and armors herself. Her chain shirt is so light she doesn't need help getting it situated. When she's ready she nods her head toward the door, asking if Ritti is ready.
Round 3
With one eye skinned for trouble, Ritti quickly equips herself. She shoves the cold weather gear into her pack, then hastily throws on her magic items. The thief quickly pops her errant ring onto a toe as she practically jumps into her boots. Finally, she slings on her bandolier, bow, and pack then throws her cloak over it all. She nods to Atsuko when she is ready and heads for the door.
Stunning Fist (3):
Boots (1):
Inspired (1):
Arrows (20):
Effects:
effect = x
"Agh! D-did not see that coming..." Yuto covers himself with the shield as his companions break through the two enemies in front.
Then noticing the arrow, or just waiting for Andochtouir or Torra to point to him where the last ninja is, he rushes there to block the exit with his body, and to give cover to his friends "W-where is him? Q-quickly! Be-efore he runs away"
He raises his shield and hopes he is not hit on a vital spot.
Torra moves around the firepit to get a sighting on the remaining ninja before scoping up the embers and chunks of burnt wood to hurl at him.
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Unable to reach his final target, Andochtuir moves up behind Yuto, ready to strike should the assassin have somehow survived Torra's attack. "I would offer surrender but by now I've come to realise such is pointless. Pick a god and pray." He says to the final Frozen Shadow as he wades through the remains of the fallen ones.
Andochtuir and Yuto rush to the door, where they see the room in full for the first time - as well as the unfortunate ninja who is now alone.
Torra takes a few steps sideways and promptly blasts the ninja down, shattering bones and breaking skin. The last of the ninja collapses in a broken heap.
Yuto covers himself with the shield when he sees one of the fortress cobblestones being thrown over the ninja. He even closes the eyes as the blood, flesh and bones splatter all over him "Phew! I-I thought he was going t-to manage another es-escape"
The young man looks at his friends and all the dead warriors in the hall "A-are you ok?"
Meanwhile, he observes the room, checking if anything of interest is here.
Also checking the fallen ninja.
Since the wasp-man (as she now thought of him after Atsuko’s horrific explanation) seemed harmless inside the box, Ritti had time to think instead of just racing for the nearest exit. She looks to Atsuko, sharing her thoughts while she listens at the remaining door . ”I’m not seeing anything that says exit to me. If we’re below ground, we might need to head upstair… but I just don’t know. I’m guessing here but I figure that if these guys are fighting folks, that’s likely happening nearer the entrance instead of the middle of this… whatever it is. So. we might have a better chance of finding a way out by heading towards the sounds of battle – dumb as that sounds.” She wiggles her fingers as Atsuko did to indicate casting, ”Do you have any magic that might help us pick a route? Does my idea sound crazy?”
Stunning Fist (3):
Boots (1):
Inspired (1):
Arrows (20):
Effects:
effect = x
Yuto's examination of the room reveals that the trapdoor in the far end of the room is... rather small. While in theory a halfling might be able to fit through it, it would have to be an incredibly flexible one. Spivey probably could squeeze through, though not without some effort.
The foot lockers nearby the pallets hold a variety of goods. There are twenty blocks of incense from Tian Xia, a cash voucher from the Rimerunners that claims to be good for 80 gold pieces, a jade bracelet, and a painted ebony fan.
There is a small closet to the northern end of the room, which has been converted into a shrine to a deity that Yuto doesn't immediately recognize. A painted stone idol depicts a man with a fearsome scowling red face, bulging eyes, and long beard, wearing red Tian robes and an iron crown. In one hand he holds a noose, while the other holds several shuriken.
A small bowl before the idol holds bits of gold jewelry and coins, while copper plates to either side of it hold the burnt remains of cubes of incense.
There is, however, a door immediately to her right that looks locked, even from where she is standing.
The other door, to the south reveals a short hallway that swiftly turns into a flight of stairs heading downwards. Like the other door, Ritti doesn't see any people or other threats.
Her thoughts concerned more with the recent conflict and other threats looming in this place, Torra gives only a cursory look over the items discovered by Yuto.
"Let's clear this level before we descend."
Atsuko shakes her head in the negative when Ritti asks about helpful spells.
"I don't think so. What sort of thing do you have in mind?"
Atsuko figures Ritti has much more experience in conflict and conflict avoidance, so she just follows her around.
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"Th-this fan is made of ebony, it seems valuable, bu-but can't say how much we could get" nevertheless, Yuto puts the precious device on the group's bag.
"Oh! I have seen this in one of my father's books!" Yuto points at the stone idol in the small shrine "This is Yaezhing, the Tian god of harsh justice. The Minister of Blood" he cannot avoid reeling back a bit, disgusted "I read many stories where murderers, assassins, and ninja revered him as a patron. U-unsurprising that he is being worshiped here, given the nature of the Frozen Shadows..."
Yuto nods to Torra's statement, though he sniffs the air a few times, feeling something odd "Th-there's a faint scent of... something strange wafting up from below. It might be... coal?"
He then kneels and tries to open the trapdoor "Th-this might lead down actually. B-but I don't think other than Spivey could fit here..."
Unless the group has a solution to try the trapdoor, Yuto will move to the next room and try to open the door there.
She heads into the long hallway stuffed with supplies and stops by the locked door, debating with herself. Finally, she listens cautiously at the door and…
Stunning Fist (3):
Boots (1):
Inspired (1):
Arrows (20):
"Oh! Well, let's see... I could make us both invisible, but it wouldn't last for even a whole minute. So that would be best for something like running through a room real quick. I also have something to make invisible things visible, and probably blind them. Have to be careful with that one though so we're not blinded too."
Atsuko pauses for a second and decides she should probably add "But not permanently blind mind you, it's just really bright."
"I have a spell that makes things slippery, good for floors and such. I can summon a dense fog. That one's hard because nobody can see in it, including us, kinda tricky that one. I can heal wounds if they're not too bad..."
"There's a couple of minor tricks I can use to make people think they see of hear something else in a different place than us, to distract them..."
"Does that help?"
Atsuko is talking nervous, kind of rushed and choppy with her words.
Irori, pretty please, don't make me a liar here.
Yuto pushes at the next door, but finds that it is locked tight. He does, however, recall that the party has a set of keys taken from the werebear's room . After a few false starts, he unlocks the door to reveal a dark, cold room. Numerous barrels, baskets, and sacks are stacked about the room. Butchered carcasses—primarily sheep, but a few hogs as well—along with bundles of roots, tubers, and herbs hang from the wooden rafters overhead. This must be a storeroom.
On the far side of the room, there is a faint crack in the door, through which light leaks - someone else is on the other side!
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Yuto enters and checks some of the barrels "Lo-loo-look, there is some real food in here. No w-wonder they kept with them... If we could bring all this to the caravan, my brother would be cheerful for the supplies"
Then noticing the noise at the other door and the light, he readies his sword and shield again "Sssssh! There are more of them at the other side!"
"" Yuto shouts towards the closed door and readies himself for the possible attack.
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"...Yes, whoever you are, we know you're here. If you're Frozen Shadows, know that all your friends are indeed dead. We tried to offer mercy, but it wasn't taken. Perhaps you have better sense?" Andochtuir calls into the room after Yuto, towards the door.
"I know, I know. But ye gods, wouldn't it be nice to have a normal conversation here once - *without* someone trying to stab us?" He mutters to his two companions afterwards.
The speaker is a tall, almost unnaturally-muscled half-elf with white hair and a neatly-trimmed beard. He was handsome if you were into the rugged, hard, athletic type. A collection of facial scars belied a lifetime of battles, as did the battle damage on his fullplate. Yet his bearing was more than that of a simple brute - something about him belief a certain refinement and kindness that went beyond knowledge on how to best cut people up.
...Though the way he held his softly glowing fauchard suggested he had plenty of experience on that particular topic as well.